Ripped Leaves
by FluffyDusk
Summary: It's been a year since the Boggans were defeated and M.K. left Moonhaven, but new enemies of the North have managed to rise, and the leafmen will need all of the help they can get, possibly from a new, curious stomper...
1. Chapter 1

_**A Two - Inch Tall Prologue**_

Nod looked out of the palace window out into the forest. The setting sun reflected majestic and bright warm shades over the almost still pool, the light breeze being the only thing disrupting its surface. It has been exactly a year since M.K. stopped talking to him through her father's, Professor Bomba's, cameras that he set up across the forest. He had checked many times, but did not dare to get too close to the house of her father, too scared of being spotted by other humans. The thought had reached him many times. He wasn't scared of anything if it came to seeing M.K. Remembering her last day, he pressed his fingers to his lips, remembering their first kiss, and what Nod feared most, pos

"You alright?"

Ronin had appeared in the room and was worried, since his godson has never acted as sorrowful as he was at this current moment.

"You're thinking about M.K. aren't you Nod?

"It's been a whole year."

Ronin carefully walked over and sat on a seat next to the leafman, carefully choosing his words to not hurt him even further.

"She never truly left. She's one of us."

Nod remembered how he had said that to M.K. as well on the day of her leaving her two inch size and Moonhaven behind.

"But that doesn't make matters any better."

"Look Buddy, something might've happened to her and she stopped talking over the cameras. It wasn't any easier for me after Tara left, and the pain is still there, but you'll live on whether you are sad or hard working. I'm not saying you should stop loving her, or forget her, but just forget the pain that it causes, you know."

Nod looked over to his godfather, amazed at how much meaning he brought and how he understood his pain. He had always known he did, but it seemed unbelievable right now.

"Thank you."

As the two hugged each other and looked out onto the water, everything seemed so magnificent, like no harm would be done to Moonhaven. Little did any soldier know, that there was danger and destruction lurking amongst the shadows that same moment.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter One: The Long Lost Key and Memories**_

I had done the one thing my mom had told me not to do. I started panicking. It was a common occurrence for me to panic, but what I was panicking about, ironically, was what was supposed to heal my anxiety. The thing is, I have a severe case of Post - Traumatic Stress Disorder. My father had died in a car accident after dropping me off at school one day. I witnessed the car being hit by another that was speeding, send my family's Hyundai Elantra flying in cartwheels and crashing into a tree. My father was instantly killed by the impact. By the time the doctors and the police came, my dad was stone cold. My school was in a lock-down, but I kept on clinging onto the window and crying. I attended his funeral. Then I got the early signs of PTSD about a month later, but it is diagnosed only another month after. It has been half a year since the crash and it was spring. Her doctor told her that what kept her anxiety, stress and her disorder going was what reminded her of her father. My mom has tried everything, from stashing away photos to burning some of dad's clothes and belongings, but I still kept grieving, even more with reminders of him gone than there. My therapist suggested we move. And that's where the trouble started.

We boarded a train the next morning. I had packed most of my stuff, including my clothes, books and violin materials. I also packed my box of treasures, which was a small cardboard and colorful box I used to store foreign coins, key chains and rocks (I collected those). I also took a rose quartz and gold bracelet I snuck away from mom. It was a present from my dad to her on their 5th anniversary, when I was about 4 years old. The memory was clear in my head: mom opening a box, trying it on, looking twice as beautiful as normal. I had to leave as much as I was taking, mostly my dad's collected antiques and photos. The only present from him that I'm taking for _me_ is my violin. I can't live without music. I play everyday. It's the only thing that kept me sane. I started when I was eight. I learned new songs every week. But I couldn't go to lessons anymore, I was so scared to show up and just break down in front of the instructor; he is one of by dad's best friends, and they are often mistaken for the other. I just kept to my small bedroom for months on end, playing the same, sad piece over and over again. I eventually came out, but I looked like a rabbit that hasn't slept in an eternity, like a street dog that hasn't eaten in a long time. My mom took a less harsh blow, but was sad all the same.

The train's whistling still echoed in my ears long after the train had started moving down it's tracks. I looked out the window into the gray, plain landscape of Auburn, Nebraska, which until now was my home. The rain pattering against the pane reflected my feelings of being melancholic, lonely. In a way, I felt happy to leave the place; I would be able to forget the place, all of the friends I lost because of my disorder, and just the memory of dad dying. I eat a bit during the trip but sleep for most of it, seeing visions of green leaves ripping apart.

As the train slowed down and came to a stop at a nearly deserted train station, we grabbed our suitcases and walked down onto the platform. Our footsteps echoed clearly as I followed my mom, walking briskly. We caught a taxi when we stepped out into fresh air of a small town and drove off to our new home. I hadn't bothered to look at signs on the station and never exactly knew where I was going to live.

"Ivy, come down! Dinner is ready!"

I jerked up from my small bed that I managed to set up in small room and looked around, memory of our arrival coming back. I had dozed off after dragging my feet up the creaking stairs to the second floor and plopped down onto the mattress of my new twin - sized bed and dozed off. My room was small and looked more like an attic than a second floor bedroom; some of the floorboards were loose, and I had to learn that fact the hard way; the paint on the walls had peeled; the large window that overlooked a meadow and a forest had a splintered windowpane; and there was dust everywhere, as if nobody has lived here in years. I had managed to unpack some stuff before flopping onto the mattress.

I hurry down the stairs and sit down at the rusted kitchen table. We ate in silence, my mother an I, until I felt overwhelmed because of the pressure hanging in the air.

"Why did we have to move?!" I cry out in pain, making my mom startled at my abrupt change in language and tone.

I sit back down and cough, surprised at how I lost control of myself. But instead of scolding me, she remains quiet At a subconscious level, I know she feels my pain and understands my train of thought.

"Can't we at least renovate this place? It stinks here!" I block my nose and wave the other hand under it, emphasizing the puke - creating smell.

And then I see my mom's face lit up, and a strange sound escapes off her tongue and through her cracked lips. I realize that it has been that long since the last time she laughed.

We started the next morning at the crack of dawn. It was raining, but we didn't care, since we stayed inside most of the day. I'll tell you one thing: There were a lot of boxes moving around, a lot of mom sweeping and wiping corners and walls. The next day, after we had unpacked everything, we headed into the small town nearby, which was only a ten minute walk away from our house, but ten minute was plenty to get your feet cold from the snow that the rain had turned into slush. We bought some paints, soaps and a new vacuum. I painted my small room's walls in a lush pastel green and lined it with stickers of birch trees, as well as packed the fridge with newly bought food, polished and stabilized the floorboards, and dusted shelves. While dusting an old bookshelf I came across a small unlocked box. Out of curiosity I opened the box and saw an antique bronze key that most likely belonged to the previous owner. Still, it was very pretty. My dad would've liked it. Then I started thinking about to what the key could open. Brushing a tear away, I was about to get back to work when I noticed a yellowed folded piece of paper that was lying on the bottom of the box. I carefully picked it up and opened it, careful because the paper was thin and fragile. There were a bunch of strange looking runes on the top of the page. Then there was a poem written in a messy, and way too loopy, cursive that I managed to decode. This is what it said:

 _A land of smaller people_

 _Has grown to make itself stronger,_

 _But they will soon need a stomper's help_

 _To let them stand for a century longer._

 _For a new enemy amongst snow shall arise,_

 _And ripped leaves will litter the ground,_

 _A traitor amongst friends will hide in disguise,_

 _But a new meaning for things will be found._

The poem did not have a date or signature. I then noticed a small symbol in the left - hand bottom corner a leaf taped to the page, and the letter _T_ scratched into it. I recognized the mark. It was a similar one as the one on my biology textbook, but the leaf on this one was real. The author of my textbook suddenly flew out of my mind. Professor Bomba, I believe. I don't see how the T ties into this puzzle, but another thought hits me, this house, at some point, had belonged to Professor Bomba. I looked up at the walls an imagined dead skin and feather of animals and bug hanging off string. I looked around at the walls and imagined maps lining them, and stacks and stacks of paper trying not to topple off the desk that my mom now uses for her business job.

"Yvonne!"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay there?"

"I am! There is just *cough* so much dust!"

"It's okay honey, we're almost done."

"Kay mom!"

I quickly put the note and the key in the box and bring it up to my room and put it carefully into the big chest of my belongings under my bed. I then hurry down into the back garden where mom is trimming up some weeds from bushes covered in a small layer of snow. I offered her some help and we get the job over with quickly. Dusk has covered the sky with it's blanket if blue, purple and final streaks of yellow. We have been working all day today and I felt tired and numb from the frost. Mom had gone inside to prepare our second dinner in our new house. The work was pretty much done, now we needed to buy more things to fill up the deserted halls and rooms.

I use this chance to run upstairs to my bedroom and take out the chest with the key. I hadn't gotten a good chance to explore while cleaning and repairing, but I did now. Placing the key in the back pocket of stretchy jeans and the note in the other, I walked off into the clearing. I then felt a strange warmth and buzzing in my back pocket. I pulled the note out and noticed that the leaf's veins and _T_ were glowing. I kept on walking and noticed that as i walked in a certain direction the glow intensified, as if leading me somewhere. To try out my theory, I turned around and started walking away. The leaf, as I thought, glowed fainter and fainter. I turned back around and started forward, now running, and the glowing intensified by so much so quickly that I was almost blinded when I came across a small shed. It was black and brown, and had loose panels, slick with frost and splintered wood all over. It was also crooked, and the doorway was even a proper rectangle. But what I noticed as I came closer to it is that it had a keyhole. I slowly pulled out my key a nearly placed it in the keyhole when I heard my mom's calls, echoing easily amongst the still forest.

"Dinner time!"

I sighed and left, but on a happy note I had an idea to continue exploring tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Two: The Magic Shed and Other Stranger Things**_

As my eyes peeled and I sat up lazily, all I wanted to do was fall back asleep, but then I remembered the strange shed, my glowing leaf and the bronze key, and I shot out of bed, pulled on some comfortable clothes, and rushed out, the glowing leaf's light twinkling leading me and twinkling with as much excitement as I had. I felt as free as the falcon that passes high above my head during the day, soaring in its greatness, showing off its barely visible feathers and talons. My footsteps and the cracking twigs leaves underneath them were the only thing interrupting the clearing silence. Having finally reached the shed I tried to insert the key as carefully as possible into the keyhole. I heard a faint click and with extreme care opened the shed door, afraid to death that it would fall into a pile of splinters if I made the wrong move. Cautiously entering through the doorway, I subconsciously look out into the clearing as if I'm seeing it for the last time. What caught my attention were not the splintered walls or bench, but a small box that sat on it. Inside was a journal, a fountain pen and a leaf. There was also a small piece of quartz, which I recognized to be similar in shape, color and size as to the biggest one on my mom's bracelet. I knew that because I happened to have been wearing it today. I took the peculiar piece and noticed that it was concave, as if it could fit to something, like a puzzle piece. I placed the two together and they merged into one stone without any effort. Next thing I knew, the stone started glowing in my hand and I clutched it with all my might, just a strong wind started blowing at my feet. I was lifted off her feet and started circling around, the circles getting bigger and bigger until I was lying flat on my back in tall grass. Tall trees encircled me. I sat up and clutched my head, in order to get the headache to stop and to remember what happened to me. _Clearing...shed...stone...ripped leaves…_

I remembered everything that had happened.

I carefully stood up and looked around. I hadn't had breakfast that morning, but I didn't feel particularly hungry. I was thirsty. At that moment I heard sounds of a rushing river and ran towards the noise's source. In front of me was a huge pool of water, somewhere along the line between a river and a lake, most of it frozen but for a small spot off the shore with warm currents. I started drinking, my hands cupped and scooping cold water, and a second later I turn around and see huge paw prints, like that of a tiger and hear a twig snap behind me. I jumped back, scared eyeballs searching for the source of the noise. I then heards some tigerlike roars and felt a few leaves fall onto my head, but they were about the size as myself. The had claw marks on them, gnashes that went straight through the material. They were the same ones I saw from my dream on the train. I was frozen on the spot so I couldn't move when quickly enough when the roar's owner jumped onto me. I let out a scream as I felt pain sore down from my shoulder to elbow. My vision became blurry. The beast launched itself at me for another attack just as an arrow whizzed by and hit it in the side. Blocking with my hurting arm the sun, I look to where the arrow was shot from. I couldn't see him. Carefully turning my body around, I saw a woman lying on the ground, though she looked more like a mutated leopard that looked kind of human. She had some brown clothes and boots and a sword, but that was all. A man then jumped off a tree branch behind me and came up to me, arm out.

"Are you okay?"

The man's voice echoed through the birches though he was speaking softly. He had hazel eyes, a strong face shape and short brown hair that barely hung off of his scalp. He wore leaf armour, but was lean for a warrior.

"I should be." Was all I replied with.

"Who are you?", he asked cautiously, as if the person whose life he saved would end his own.

"The question is, who are _you_?" I ask back.

"Nod, Rookie Leafman, protectors of the forest. Now your turn." The stranger, Nod, replied. He reached out his hand to shake it, and I reached out my arm, but the pain and jerk made me realize it was my sore arm. I winced, and if he had noticed he didn't say anything about it.

"Hazel." I reply, deciding not to give Nod my real name. "And where are we?"

"Haven't you ever been a part of these woods?" Nod looks at me like some sort of alien.

"No…" I reply awkwardly, unintentionally lowering my voice. "What was the thing that attacked me?"

"I don't know. First time seeing one. No worries, it's probably just a scout. But keep your eyes peeled, Hazel. Were you taught to use weapons?"

"Sadly, I have not." I reply, sarcasm flowing out of my mouth instead of proper words.

"We need to get out of here in case they'll come back." His eyes did a quick scan of the area as if to confirm his words.

A silent agreement passes over us and we start walking, Nod leading the way.

"So where are you from, exactly?" was the first question he asked.

I couldn't tell him anything, I didn't know where I was and he was certainly not from anywhere I wasn't even sure if he was friendly or human, but my gut told me otherwise. I have doubted it doe so long that I have nearly forgotten what it felt like to get a 'gut reaction'.

"I don't know where I am myself," was all I told him.

Understanding that he wasn't going to get anything out of me, he changed he thought of a subject to change. Just then a butterfly flew past us. I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise if it wasn't so _huge._ It's wings were far greater than my arm span, and I could see every one of it's legs and feathers up close. Nod must have had blunt reactions for he just kept on walking, while I took the goofiest possible stance of surprise.

"You used to something smaller?" He said with a cheeky smile, knowing that the words caught me off guard, but I replied quickly (key fragment being 'lied'), saying that they are just about average. Nod wasn't taking the bait, but I seemed to be a hard nut for him to crack.

"Have you ever had to deal with the pain of losing somebody, someone who you loved, seeing them fall in front of your eyes?"

The question hit me like a rock. Nobody has ever asked the question, because they knew the answer. My dad had been an accomplished geographer. Even if people didn't know, they would leave me alone, assuming I lost a dog or something. But when I though over the question, it made the pain fresh all over again. My body hasn't cried itself out enough. As I felt tears come to my eyes, and my vision got blurry, I noticed that Nod had stopped and was looking at me with confusion. I stumbled towards him and fell into his arms. He had hesitated for a moment, and then held me. I would've never hugged a stranger, especially one who considered me strange and could yield a bow and arrow, but at that moment I felt the past returning to me. I felt like a little kid again, when I started crying mom would come, soothe me and rock me in a loving, warm, protective embrace and whisper to me that everything would be alright. I started crying softly into his shoulder, and surprisingly he was okay with it.

"I didn't ask you if you coped with the pain, but now I know what I wanted to know." He gently whispered.

Then I felt my body become painfully numb and then relax a bit too much, and the world went black after that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three: Everybody Has Secrets**

I must have fainted, because I didn't wake up on the forest floor but in a white and green bed, but the pain was now weaker than before. I hazily opened my eyes and saw Nod sitting next to my bed, head down, like he had dozed off.

"Where am I?"

My soft and raspy voice seemingly startles him awake.

"You're in the healer's hut at Moonhaven. You had a fairly nasty gash on your arm, most likely caused by the enemy scout. Your lips were blue and your complexion was pale."

So I had passed out from the cold as well as my anxiety in front of a self - confident stranger who looked like a lead samurai. Couldn't have been in a better situation. My emotions of fresh grief and loss take over. I try to sit up furiously and storm back out, back home, where I belong. The sharp strike of pain in my head, arm and leg tell me that right now, that's a very bad idea.

"No heavy muscular activity for now, young lady," a woman's voice tells me from the other side of the room, "until your arm gets better."

I looked over my shoulder to the sound of the voice. A plump lady with a platinum colored pixie cut and sharp grey eyes entered the room, and she looked simply terrifying.

"That's one nasty frostbite, as well as the gash on your arm, and your twisted ankle. It is incredible how you're still alive, with the cold an all. But the most mysterious thing was that a single strand of your hair is a brilliant blue. We don't yet know what caused it, or how it was caused, but it is one big jumble of work on top of my already busy schedule!"

She spoke really quickly and added a stomp at the end to emphasize the importance of her statement. I quickly look around the room and notice a small mirror on the side table and pick it up. My reflection is there, and as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, there is a blue, glowing streak of color on my jet - black hair.

"Wha…"

"Nothing to worry about Hazel, everything will be alright…"

"What have you done to me?!"

My shout creates an echo in this small healer's hut. At the moment, _nothing_ seems alright. I launch into another panic attack, starting to pace around the room, holding my head in my hands, barely breathing but still heaving, shouting out random words like 'conscious' and 'ripped' and 'dust'. The healer just stands there in the middle of the room, sharing her shock with Nod.

I nearly pass out again when Nod starts shaking me and calling my name. He tells me to calm down, and places me back to bed. My emotions were out of control, he said. I was about to cry again when he perked up. There were some strange musical notes in the background, somewhat of a french horn, and he ran outside without another word. The healer also looked kind of focused and...scared? As I rethink all of the things that had happened today, I turn my bod onto its side on the soft bed and doze off, anticipating when Nod arrives back.

My ankle is already feeling better and my arm doesn't hurt as much when Nod comes back that evening. He had been out the whole entire day, and I admit, I kind of missed him. He is a fun guy, but he can also become your overprotective dad the minute a mouse crawls out (for those who do not know, at my current height, mice are huge and scarier). The healer had allowed me to leave the hut and have some fresh air, which I was glad for, since my muscles had become cramped and asleep. I just walked around the place, mesmerized by my enlarged surroundings, when I accidentally crash into a person walking in the opposite direction and start quickly apologizing.

"C'mon Hazel, it should be me who's apologizing."

"Nod!"

I restrain myself from hugging the leafman, and while brushing away and sitting on a rock nearby, I listen to him tell me about why he had left so abruptly, and what he saw during his immediate gathering. Apparently, someone saw an intruder creeping into camp, but he couldn't tell how the intruder looked. He had given a signal to Moonhaven's soldiers that there was danger nearby. They had gone out and nearly caught the intruder when he had run away. All that was left of him was a small pile of leaves with rips on them, and a unnaturally large paw print in the snow. He pulls out of his back pocket a folded leaf that has two gnashes along it, like the ones I saw in my dream on the train. I try to hide a gasp that came out of my mouth, but I'm too late.

"You recognize these?"

So, like in all bad decisions, I decide to lie and cover up.

"It's just shocking at how deep and long the gashes are, that's all."

And understanding Nod's character, I vaguely accepted his suspicious facial expression. It doesn't last long, and his features click into a more mischievous look.

"Here, I want to show you something."

Reluctantly I follow him. We walk across Moonhaven, and I see many interesting things: there are flower and bug people, which Nod explains to be called Jinn. There are huts that are basically carved stones, some having leaves as roofs, others just having the same stone. Instead of doors, they have curtains of, you guessed it, _leaves._ Man, will I ever get sick of repeating that word? Nod keeps on looking back at me, which makes me awfully uncomfortable, as if he's rummaging in my mind, trying to figure me out.

We come to a tree which stands next to a beautiful stone building, nothing like the others, because it is way taller and has more detail on its walls. Dusk has started to fall, the the light coming from the windows illuminated magnificently on the pool of water in front of it.

"You know how to climb?"

"No."

"Man, some must've had a boring childhood."

His face changed, but only for a moment, as if silently regretting ever saying anything. I felt like I had heard the phrase before, but couldn't remember when; I was too busy listening to Nod explain how to successfully climb up a tree and demonstrated the first few leafman - metres. It looked so effortless, but I had trouble getting the hang of it, but I managed to climb up the tree bark.

"Why are we doing this?"

"So Ronin doesn't spot that I've been away for some time."

"Who is Ronin?"

"My godfather."

"Why don't you live with your parents?"

There was an awkward pause, and _I_ now regret ever saying anything.

We finished climbing and started walking along a branch that was as think as half my height. The branch narrows, and I get scared and stop for a moment, but seeing how Nod is doing it I do the same, and turns out, I'm not such a failure at adapting to my two inch size after all.

We climb into a window quietly, and we softly land into an open hall. Nod starts walking briskly but soundlessly, and I do the same. He passes by many doors before stopping at one of them. Carefully, he unlocks the door and gestures me in. It's a beautiful room and has very simple yet elegant furniture.

"Welcome to my den."

"It's…beautiful. It would be nice to always live here."

Then I noticed his facial expression change to a gloomy one, the one he had when he remembered something or asked my the question that had triggered me to tears.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

He pauses and walks over to a window, propping his arm against the windowsill.

"This used to be my parents' room."

"I'm very sorry, I know how that feels. I lost my father to a stupid accident," I reply as I start feeling tears creeping up to my eyes, "But at least I still have my mom. It must be very bad for you."

"Thank you for understanding."

As soon as those words leave his mouth Nod pulls me into a hug, but quickly breaks it, embarrassed at the fact. I understand all of his emotions as my own.

"There's also this girl that I never got to show this room to. She saved this place, saved me, but never actually came into the living quarters. She was…an amazing person. I thought of her as strange at first, but she became part of us, even if she was a stomper."

 _Stomper._ That's what it said in the poem.

"On the topic of strange, take a look at this."

I pull out the paper from my back pocket and hand it to him. He opens it and starts reading its writing, his eyes skimming the lines.

"I found this in a drawer of my house."

His face lights up with an unexplainable expression and he looks at me very strangely.

"Have you ever heard of Professor Bomba?"

"Yes. He is my biology teacher. But how do _you_ know who he is?"

"Because that girl I was talking about, she's his daughter, M.K. She loved with her father in the house near west forest clearing, of you know where that is."

I was struck. So professor Bomba _did_ live at the house, and I'm not the first human who became two inches tall. I was about to tell him that I now live in that same house, but I bit back my tongue, still not trusting him enough. Good thing I did, because a man enters the room. He has flat gray hair, a square jaw and a menacing look that tells me we're in trouble.

"Nod, where have you been? Your patrol didn't end. Why can't you be a bit more responsible?"

Yup. His voice confirmed his face.

"And who are you, young lady? What are you doing in my godson's bedroom?"

I practically shrank at his words. Seeing that I was unable to answer, Nod answered for me.

"Ronin, this is Hazel. Hazel, this is my godfather, Ronin. Don't worry, she won't hurt us." Nod quickly added as he saw the leafman quickly grip his sword.

"Your godson saved my life, general, and I'm here only to pay that back."

"You see, she's not from around here, and she feels quite lost, so why don't we give her a home for the time being? As you always say, 'Many leaves to a tree…'"

"I don't need you reminding me of that. You're welcome to stay for the time being, Miss Hazel, until you're ready to go back home."

"Thank you, general."

"Nod?"

"I will take care of her." Nod replied.

And with that the man left, leaving us sitting in here alone. I remembered his words to me. I _wanted_ to go home, but I didn't know how to. Mom must be worrying about me. I really hope I left a note saying I'd be going for a hike for a few days or something like that. I didn't want her going into the woods and finding this place, not now.

I then heard a rustle of leaves outside and scraping. Nod must've heard it too, because he jumped into a stance ready to fight, sword at hand. Moments passed, then another tiger - person jumped in. An intense fight began, for the scout had armour and weapons. The fight started going in his favor, and Nod lost his sword from his hand and fell to the ground. He tried to stand up, but his back was crushed to the group by the beast's humongous back paw. He was about to lash him sword towards Nod to kill him when a force inside me willed me to swipe the sword from his hand. With a swipe of my arm, it flew away, and the tiger person had nothing to fight with. He turned around at me and gave me a look that signified my death. The past me would've run away, but this new me stood still and tall. I raised my hands and started tearing off the main armour of the scout. The shoulder guards, the arm plates and the leg plates, blue flashes of light filling the room. I suddenly felt the blue streak in my hair glowing brighter than ever, and I felt a strange tinge between warmth and cold piercing me gently. I felt powerful, and with uncontrollable fury I threw that power at him, neon blue flashed like lightning and the beast was thrown back against the wall. The racket must've attracted a lot of attention, for Ronin and other leafmen ran inside the room, swords and bows of arrows in hand. The scout gave them a menacing look and slid out the window with a visible limp, whispering in purrs and an accented human voice, "So she must be the one." And with that he disappeared. Ronin dropped his sword and ran towards his godson. He looked at him, bruised and cut, but still okay. They stood up and looked at me. I wanted to crawl into hole, do the strong me was gone. Ronin looked like he would've gladly killed me, but then he saw the armour and gave it to the other leafmen to examine. Then he looked at me hands. They had the same burn mark as the ones on the broken armour. Then Ronin's face changes to a grateful one and he hugs me, whispering, "Thank you for saving my godson."


End file.
